Preview: Huskies facing uphill battle with Oregon offense

ESPN.com put up a “Did You Know” fact last week that concerned the top-ranked Oregon Ducks. The Oregon mascot has pumped out 2,195 push-ups this season. If every mascot performed this task after scores, the Oregon mascot would still have done more push-ups than any mascot in the nation.

Why? Because Oregon scores more points per game than any other team in America.

Oregon running back LaMichael James leads the nations number one scoring offense against the Huskies on Saturday. (Getty Images/Harry How)

That’s not a stat that bodes well for the Huskies, whose defense ranks 106th in the nation in opponents points allowed. Oregon enters the contest against Washington with point totals of 72, 69 and 60 in games this season. In no game have the Ducks scored fewer than 42 points.

Oregon has achieved such a high scoring total based mostly on its offensive scheme. Dubbed the “blur” offense for its propensity for lots of snaps stuffed into minimal game time, the no-huddle luck leaves defenses with little time to react and get into sets, let alone substitute different personnel.

“It gets tough on those guys out there,” defensive coordinator Nick Holt said. “They spread you out and you’ve got to play the run game and the pass game…it’s hard to sub, but you’ve got to do it to keep your guys fresh.”

The Ducks are led by running back LaMichael James, who already has over 1200 yards and 14 rushing TD’s on the season. James is averaging 7.1 yards per carry and has rushed for over 225 yards in a game three times this season.

Oregon’s quarterback is sophomore Darron Thomas, who took over for Jeremiah Masoli and has filled in nicely. Thomas has thrown for 21 TD’s while also rushing for 311 yards. Thomas has thrown eight touchdowns in his last three games against one interception.

While Oregon has been running wild offensively, its defense has also been impressive. The Ducks give up an average of under 18 points per game and have allowed fewer than 15 points four times this season.

The Washington offense is being led by redshirt freshman Keith Price, who is filling in for an injured Jake Locker. Price has attempted only nine passes in his short career and will be playing behind an offensive line that has been in constant flux all year.

It would probably be a tough day for the Washington offense regardless of who the opponent was. UW has scored just 14 points combined in its last two games and managed just 107 yards of offense against Stanford last week.